chairness

English

WOTD – 3 April 2018

Etymology

Van Gogh’s Chair (1888) by Vincent van Gogh, from the collection of the National Gallery, London, England, UK

chair +‎ -ness.

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃɛənəs/
Audio (RP) (file)
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃɛɹnəs/
Hyphenation: chair‧ness

Noun

chairness (uncountable)

The essence of what it means to be a chair; the qualities that make a chair what it is.
- 1870 December 29, “A New Adam in Sweden”, in Daily Telegraph‎, Harrisburg, PA, page 1:
  There was, according to him [an artificial monster created by a Swedish scientist], a 'goodness' that made things good, an 'evil principle' that made them bad, [...] and a 'chairness' or 'boxness' that made things chairs and boxes.
- 1907, H. A. Prichard, “A Criticism of the Psychologists' Treatment of Knowledge”, in Mind: A Quarterly Review of Psychology and Philosophy‎, volume 16, Oxford: Oxford University Press, OCLC 948980807, page 34:
  Similarly when we call triangularity or chairness an idea or notion or concept, we do not mean to deny that these natures are really manifested in particulars; we are only saying that their reality, like that of the particulars, presupposes a thinking subject.
- 2003, Ann Packer, chapter 18, in The Dive from Clausen’s Pier, New York, N.Y.: Vintage Contemporaries, →ISBN, page 177:
  He extended his finger and outlined the shape of the chair. "It's about forms and negative space—she's taken the chairness away from the chair and left it purely object."
- 2011, Thad Nodine, chapter 3, in Touch and Go: A Novel, [Lakewood, Colo.]: Unbridled Books, →ISBN, page 39:
  I can identify the pattern of wood grain on my chair at Mom and Dad's kitchen table, but I don't try to sketch it in my mind. For me, chairness is nonvisual; it's the feel of a seat connected to four legs and a backrest.
- 2012, Jesse J. Prinz, “Where is Consciousness? The Intermediate Level”, in The Conscious Brain: How Attention Engenders Experience (Philosophy of Mind), Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 74:
  When you look at a chair, you are aware of its shape from a particular point of view, but defenders of this objection insist that you are also aware of its chairness.

Anagrams

chariness